Apocalyptic tale of radiation, after already having extinguished life all across the globe, slowly wending its way to Australia. What we get is a film about those final months as seen through the lives of four principal players primarily. Gregory Peck is in the lead as an American submarine commander with his crew who were on a mission when the "war" of nuclear epic culminated in the release of this earth-killing weapon of mass destruction. His ship is being tabbed to do some tests and is assigned a young, newly-turned father in Anthony Perkins as a member of the Australian navy. Peck is set up with a friend of Perkins - the lovely Ava Gardner, a playful, lonely woman who spent her life playing with men as mere toys. Rounding out the four is Fred Astaire as an English scientist who helped work on weapons in the past and now drinks heavily. Director Stanley Kramer unfolds the events of these precious months mostly through their eyes as they all prepare for an inevitable end.
On the Beach is lots of things but certainly not uplifting. The plot trajectory shows itself early on and really never wavers from its course. What we do get is insight into the human spirit, the inexhaustible human need for love and life purpose, a variety of ways dealing with the same crisis, and a sense of home and what that means to different people.
Kramer does a marvelous job taking us on this journey with memorable scenes which truly out rank the performances of the central four(or five if you wish to include newcomer Donna Anderson as Perkins's wife who prefers to be ostrich-like through all the proceedings). The empty settings in San Francisco and San Diego. The crowded streets in Australia with no petrol but horses and buggies. The end montage. Visually stunning is much of the film. Kramer is never heavy-handed with his message either. Clearly the film is lesson in what might or could happen when little boys play with dangerous things they cannot fully comprehend. Despite the poignant and serious nature of much of the film, the lead actors display a full arrangement of emotions and really show how they cope with this crisis by ignoring, redirecting, transposing, etc... They are all good though out of the main four - three were playing either Australians or, in Astaire's case, an Englishman, and clearly speak and act like Americans. A small quibble. Kramer also has a wide array of competent supporting cast and extras which are clearly Australian and they lend an air of credibility to the film which is lacking from the aforementioned leads at times. Some of their moments are some of the best in the film. Kramer even has one scene in a gentleman's club where two older patrons discuss the excess amount of quality spirits which will go to waste as five months is not nearly long enough to drink it all. It is a humorous scene to be sure.
On the Beach is a very good film and one that can have even some lessons for all of us today as it tackles a life everyone knows and many are very comfortable with to see a new norm created out of dire circumstances. How those circumstances and that new norm are dealt with directly affects the quality of the narrative and the outcome of the story.
On the Beach is lots of things but certainly not uplifting. The plot trajectory shows itself early on and really never wavers from its course. What we do get is insight into the human spirit, the inexhaustible human need for love and life purpose, a variety of ways dealing with the same crisis, and a sense of home and what that means to different people.
Kramer does a marvelous job taking us on this journey with memorable scenes which truly out rank the performances of the central four(or five if you wish to include newcomer Donna Anderson as Perkins's wife who prefers to be ostrich-like through all the proceedings). The empty settings in San Francisco and San Diego. The crowded streets in Australia with no petrol but horses and buggies. The end montage. Visually stunning is much of the film. Kramer is never heavy-handed with his message either. Clearly the film is lesson in what might or could happen when little boys play with dangerous things they cannot fully comprehend. Despite the poignant and serious nature of much of the film, the lead actors display a full arrangement of emotions and really show how they cope with this crisis by ignoring, redirecting, transposing, etc... They are all good though out of the main four - three were playing either Australians or, in Astaire's case, an Englishman, and clearly speak and act like Americans. A small quibble. Kramer also has a wide array of competent supporting cast and extras which are clearly Australian and they lend an air of credibility to the film which is lacking from the aforementioned leads at times. Some of their moments are some of the best in the film. Kramer even has one scene in a gentleman's club where two older patrons discuss the excess amount of quality spirits which will go to waste as five months is not nearly long enough to drink it all. It is a humorous scene to be sure.
On the Beach is a very good film and one that can have even some lessons for all of us today as it tackles a life everyone knows and many are very comfortable with to see a new norm created out of dire circumstances. How those circumstances and that new norm are dealt with directly affects the quality of the narrative and the outcome of the story.